Has anyone?

Has anyone bought a cheap gimbal head for a tripod off ebay? I can't justify spend $400+ for a gimbal to support my sigma.

I have a flashpoint gimbal, they are $240 at adorama. Not bad for the money, but it is not for a big lens. I used this one for my 100-400, but now that I have a 500f4 I bought a bigger one.

here is a link.

http://www.adorama.com​/FPGH.html

how much can you justify spending on repairs if a cheap gimbal breaks?

Hello,

I bought a Promaster gimbal GH-10 to use with a Sigma 150-500. It works good enough for me and I can balance the lens and my gripped 20D and my 1DMK2 on it just fine. New it was about $ 150.00 which makes it the same price as the Opteka and a bit more than the Coral Pix version.

You can also look for a used Manfrotto 393 gimbal. It is larger and heavier than the Wimberley knock-offs by a good bit but you could mount a .50 caliber machine gun on it and it wouldn't even know it was there. They are about $ 175.00 new.

Check youtube for videos on gimbal heads.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Take a look into the reviews of the Opteka gh1 gimbal. Not too bad for under $200.

I have Beike gimble head - the Opteka is the same head re-branded. It's available on ebay for under $90.

I use it for my 400/5.6, a fairly light lens, although I have a friend who uses one for his 600mm Nikon.

The main problem with these heads seems to be that the movements can be very stiff as delivered. Mine wouldn't move at all horizontally at first, but after getting some lubrication into it and working it a bit it's fine. My vertical movement is still stiffer than I like. Many people disassemble them to clean out and replace the original lubricant, there's info available online for this. A bit of a pain, but it's the tradeoff for the low purchase price.

Reviews on these heads are good, and I've never come across a report of structural problems.

I don't use mine a lot, but when I have I've been pleased with it.

Have a look at the UK based Lensmaster heads. I use an RH1 moel for my 300 F2.8 IS and find it pretty good. It is not as good as my Wimberley 2 but it is smaller, lighter and MUCH cheaper, it also comes with 2 QR plates (Arca type). I believe they ship overseas.

http://www.lensmaster.​co.uk/rh1.htm

If you do go for a cheaper full (i.e., not a Sidekick-type) gimbal then make sure it allows you to adjust the height of the lens. This is essential for getting everything perfectly balanced - so that you can have the friction really low yet still be able to move everything with one finger and have it stay in place when you stop moving it.

If you can't adjust the height then the centre of gravity may be above/below the axis of rotation when will cause the lens to swing up/down when at an angle. This is one of the major problems with the Manfrotto 393.

Hello,

In reference the point that Hollis brought up I can tell you that when I received my Promaster GH-10 and set it up I thought the thing was welded together. I literally could barely move it in any axis. Of course, it had spent the better part of a day sitting on my front porch in sub 10F temperatures.

I let it sit overnight and then removed the set screws and put a drop or two of my favorite fishing reel oil down the holes and let it sit. It now works perfectly. It does have the capability to adjust the height on the mounting plate. I needed to move it up a bit so that I could access the switches for the OS and AF/MF on my Sigma. I can easily set it up to balance either of my camera bodies and the Sigma 150-500 in about a minute.

I am pretty much certain that you can adjust the height of the mounting plate on the Manfrotto 393 as well. That mount consists of two metal "U" shaped brackets. The lower bracket has the mounting plate to attach to the tripod base. The upper bracket has the plate to which you mount your lens. The upper bracket has several screw holes on either side so that you can set it either higher or lower in the bottom "U" bracket depending on your needs, and your physical height in relation to your tripod.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

jtmiv wrote in post #16615823
It does have the capability to adjust the height on the mounting plate.

But only in three positions, not enough to get proper balance unless you're lucky.

Dear Hollis,

The more I think about it the height adjustment has nothing to do with anything.

You can adjust both the lateral and vertical movement on the Manfrotto 393 from free swinging to locked down tight as a drum. Those adjustments are on the horizontal and vertical axes. As long as your lens properly fits the plate provided with the 393 you will have sufficient fore-aft adjustment ability to make the lens/camera combo behave properly.

All the height adjustment of the two brackets does is regulate the vertical movement relative to the camera you have mounted on the lens, ie. you may need to move the upper bracket higher to allow enough vertical movement if you have a pro body or a gripped body.

What I am missing here?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

+1 on Frank's comments.

I took a chance on the Opteka GH1 and it is OK, not great. If you use the panning knob to adjust tension it grinds the aluminum until it has very rough movement. After taking it apart, smoothing everything and greasing it it is OK but still not great. Each time I use it I have to tighten up the bolt to take out the play.

I am glad I tried it out to prove that a full gimbal is the way to go. When funds permit I will probably get a Custom Brackets (with actual bearings) or a Wimberley II (which doesn't say if panning has a bearing or not but has good reviews).

The sidekick style gimbals would take care of lining up the center of the lens. It isn't an option for me because sometimes I use the L-Bracket on the 7D with the kit lens. The L-Bracket does not have stop screws and could potentially slide through the clamp. It is best to let gravity work for you rather than against you.

C Scott IV wrote in post #16616057
+1 on Frank's comments.
The sidekick style gimbals would take care of lining up the center of the lens. It isn't an option for me because sometimes I use the L-Bracket on the 7D with the kit lens. The L-Bracket does not have stop screws and could potentially slide through the clamp. It is best to let gravity work for you rather than against you.

Unfortunately the center of the lens is almost never the right place to balance a lens. This is because the camera you attach to it is almost always bottom heavy. This is even more pronounced in gripped bodies and pro bodies. The center of the lens is almost always positioned just above the vertical pivot - hence Hollis' comments.

Thanks for clarifying. One could use a nodal rail for that but a full gimbal with adjustable height is the more practical solution.

C Scott IV wrote in post #16616991
Thanks for clarifying. One could use a nodal rail for that but a full gimbal with adjustable height is the more practical solution.

I feel a full gimbal is the best solution but they are heavier and more expensive! I wouldn't rule out sidekick type heads (as my Lensmaster is one and it works OK) but I would suggest trying before buying.